Machine Gun Kelly & Travis Barker Share Socially Distant "Bloody Valentine" Music Video On The Late Late Show (Bad Boy/Interscope Records)
For quite a while now, rapper, actor, and musician Machine Gun Kelly (MGK) has been teasing his so-called "Pop-punk album," Tickets to My Downfall, for quite a while now. It was supposed to be released earlier this year, but has been delayed for obvious reasons and now, has a street date of July 17, 2020. Tickets to My Downfall was produced by blink-182 drummer and Hip-Hop enthusiast Travis Barker, along with SlimXX, BazeXX & RookXX, according to Wikipedia. MGK provides vocals and guitar, while Barker plays drums across Tickets to My Downfall; according to numerous interviews with Machine Gun Kelly himself, the album will, supposedly, feature contributions from blackbear, Goody Grace, MOD SUN, Chris "Fronz" Fronzak from Attila, Young Thug, YUNGBLUD, and The Used frontman Bert McCracken. Aside from the aforementioned tidbits and a viral video of Machine Gun Kelly feverishly dancing/skanking across a table backed by, seemingly, disinterested label execs.
MGK has been flirting with his Rap-Rock/Pop-punk persona for quite a while now, having toured with Fall Out Boy on their 2018 M.A.N.I.A. Tour, collaborating with Travis Barker & YUNGBLUD, X Ambassadors, and Lzzy Hale (Halestorm,) and forging a unique friendship with Marilyn Manson. As part of his Lockdown Sessions series, MGK has covered Rihanna, Oasis & Paramore, as well as original songs incorporating or directly inspired by PVRIS, Shawn Mendes & Mike Posner. Last year, Machine Gun Kelly famously portrayed Tommy Lee in Netflix's silver screen adaption of Mötley Crüe's wildly debaucherous memoir, The Dirt. Plus, for its companion soundtrack, MGK appeared alongside Mötley Crüe themselves on an original track dubbed "The Dirt (Est. 1981.)" While Kelly has been releasing more Hip-Hop-centric singles since the top of the year, it appears as though his latest, "Bloody Valentine" serves as our first official taste of Tickets to My Downfall. Although, we would argue "why are you here" and Machine Gun Kelly & Travis Barker's spot-on cover of Paramore's "Misery Business" are, likely, cut from the same cloth as Tickets to My Downfall.
"Bloody Valentine" seems to reference Shoegaze pioneers My Bloody Valentine and takes sonic inspiration from Tom DeLonge-era blink-182. Aside from its ties to Pop-punk/Hip-Hop, "Bloody Valentine" is an extremely catchy song in its own right. Last week, we were treated to the official audio from "Bloody Valentine" and this week, saw the release of its official lyric video, but the other night, Machine Gun Kelly & Travis Barker appeared together on The Late Late Show. "Kels" & "Trav," as they affectionately call each other, treated host James Corden and his late night fanbase to a music video they made for "Bloody Valentine." It's a fairly straight-forward performance-style music video with Kelly & Barker practicing appropriate social distance and even features an appropriate-for-TV self-edit by MGK himself. "Bloody Valentine" & "Misery Business" are both currently available on streaming services. Machine Gun Kelly & Travis Barker's Tickets to My Downfall drops Friday, July 17, 2020 on Bad Boy/Interscope Records.
